During the 19 seasons of Premier League football in England there have been a number of classic encounters that will last long in fans’ memories. The Premiership has been set alight by many encounters involving a selection of Premiership teams. These include classic Premiership games between Liverpool and Newcastle, Tottenham and Arsenal and the Manchester derby which have all produced memorable Premier League encounters. A special mention has to go to the West Ham 5-4 Bradford match in 2000 that only failed to make the list due to a lack of video footage! Here is a run down of the Top 10 Premier League matches to date...
10: Liverpool 3-3 Manchester United (1994) – United went 3 up in the first 24 minutes in this Premiership fixture at Anfield, before a brace from Nigel Clough and a Neil Ruddock header in front of the Kop earned a point for Liverpool and secured a great comeback.
http://www.youtube.com/v/MxCx1oDEoZs?version=3
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9: Newcastle 4-3 Leicester (1997) – Newcastle completed a marvellous comeback after trailing 3-1 with 14 minutes to go at St James’ Park. A Premier League upset was on the cards before a stunning three kick led to a hat trick in the last 14 minutes by Newcastle hero Alan Shearer and the Magpies stole the points.
http://www.youtube.com/v/AUrftdKkFzU?version=3
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8: Portsmouth 7-4 Reading (2007) - A simply incredible game at Fratton Park. There were eleven goals scored in this Premier League encounter as both defences went missing in a match that Benjani Mwaruwari scored a hat-trick for Pompey. Eight of the goals were scored in the second half and Reading manager Steve Coppell summed it up perfectly by saying "It's difficult to analyse a match like that".
http://www.youtube.com/v/EcbYYV64NZw?version=3
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7: Liverpool 4-4 Arsenal (2009) – The first, but not the last, 4-4 scoreline in this list. A remarkable 4 goal haul by Russian midfielder Andrey Arshavin earned a point for Arsenal at Anfield, but it was Liverpool midfielder Yossi Benayoun who snatched a draw for the Reds as he scrambled the ball home during injury-time.
http://www.youtube.com/v/i3KzsuVdYTY?version=3
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6: Leeds 4-3 Liverpool (2000) - Also known as Mark Viduka 4-3 Liverpool, this match saw the Australian striker at his very best. Viduka scored all four goals for Leeds, as they fought back from 2-0 and 3-2 down to win 4-3 at Elland Road. Leeds were injury-hit and couldn't even fill the bench, but Viduka carried the team single-handedly to victory.
http://www.youtube.com/v/sRySQmgy8LI?version=3
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5: Tottenham 3-5 Manchester United (2001): A game of two-halves, Tottenham thought they had won it at the break but Sir Alex Ferguson's men had other ideas. Dean Richards, Les Ferdinand and Christian Ziege put Spurs 3-0 up, but Man United were sensational in the second half and goals from Andy Cole, Laurent Blanc, Ruud van Nistelrooy, Juan Sebastian Veron and David Beckham turned the match on its head.
http://www.youtube.com/v/y1Sm2BI6mIc?version=3
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4: Arsenal 4-4 Tottenham (2008) – This time it was Tottenham who mounted a great comeback. Aaron Lennon’s injury-time equaliser was one of two Spurs goals in the dying moments to give new boss Harry Redknapp a stunning point at the Emirates Stadium, in a match that also featured an audacious strike from ex-Gunner David Bentley in the first half.
http://www.youtube.com/v/hP9zfDwqoFU?version=3
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3: Manchester United 4-3 Manchester City (2009) – Enthralling Premiership derby from last season when City came back from 3-1 down through 2 goals from Welsh striker Craig Bellamy and looked to have secured a draw, before Michael Owen scored a dramatic injury-time winner.
http://www.youtube.com/v/AP7Zpl4OFqc?version=3
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2: Newcastle 4-4 Arsenal (2011) - The sole entrant from this season and yet again the Gunners are involved in a match that ended 4-4. Arsene Wenger's men raced into a 4-0 lead at St James' Park and it was just a question of how many they'd score. But in the second half Abou Diaby got sent off, a Leon Best strike was sandwiched by a couple of Joey Barton penalties and then Cheik Tiote scored a stunning volley to level up the match.
http://www.youtube.com/v/s4ITkompQjA?version=3
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1: Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle (1996) – The first of two classic Premiership fixtures between these two teams (I would have included the other in the top ten but thought one Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle match was enough), which saw Stan Collymore score a last minute winner and dent Newcastle’s Premiership title bid. Both teams led during a pulsating game but Collymore’s strike delivered a fatal blow to Kevin Keegan’s team.
http://www.youtube.com/v/EEee1qoIQHg?version=3
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So the original Liverpool 4-3 Newcastle encounter has topped the list, but are there any other Premiership games that you think deserve recognition and should go down as one of the top ten Premier League matches of all-time?
Compiled by Tom Jones